1996

1996 Grivot Jean Nuits St.Georges Les Lavières

By billn on November 12, 2010

Medium colour. The nose is wide and a little wild, perhaps a soupçon of brett? Maybe not, a clearer fruit note does come through, but there is plenty here that suggests a measure of aromatic maturity. If the nose hints at maturity, the palate less so; excellent acidity is the base of a taught and wiry aspect to this wine – quite narrow and primary in the mid-palate. I would say, despite the aromas, this needs at least another 3 years in the cellar for something equating to the first stage of marturity. That said – it is quite drinkable now – in this format.

1996 Drouhin Joseph Vosne-Romanée

By on March 31, 2009 #asides

Medium ruby-red colour. The nose has a very faintly lifted and coffee tinged impression – it seems quite 1996-ish – underneath is tight red cherry fruit at the core and small impression of prune – as a whole this is actually quite nice. Given time there’s a hint of smoke and dried currants – lovely. Chewing the wine is not so easy given the typical 1996 acidity, but it yields faint but sandy textured tannins. Some impression of maturity to the fruit flavours, but whether you wait 2 or 10 years I’m not sure you will ever get a ‘comfort wine’, it will always fully reflect the vintage, but as someone with who is not acid-averse, no problem for me. Faintly lingering flavours are the last(ing) impression. Clean and quite tasty.

1996 Engel René Vosne-Romanée

By on July 31, 2007 #asides

Medium ruby-red. The nose right from opening is a bit of a star. Deep with a twist of oak before transparent red berry and redcurrant notes come through. Plenty of higher, slightly volatile notes too – but always quite compelling. The palate is just a little more challenging – very forward acidity, indeed borderline ‘too much acidity’, very, very linear presentation, still a little astringent tannin remains, but there’s also some bitterness in the finish. No sign of decline because this is exactly how the wine presented itself for the whole 3 hours before it was gone. A bit of a challenge this bottle, balanced by the lovely aromatics.

1996 Barthod Ghislaine Chambolle-Musigny

By on March 31, 2007 #asides

A soft and spongy cork. The colour is a medium-plus ruby red showing just a faint amber edge. The first note is a hard sulfur note and it takes quite some time to lift, slowly a quite striking violet note over soft red cherry comes through – quite a compelling impression. The palate starts quite short, but lengthens in tandem with the improvement in the nose. The tannin is still quite astringent and the overall impression is still a little harsh. The acidity is good and the nose eventually shines but this wine remains the Curate’s egg. If you want to drink now, decant or open a couple of hours before pouring.

1996 Bourée Pierre Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Clos de la Justice

By on June 30, 2006 #asides

Medium-pale ruby-red core moving through salmon to clear at the rim – looks delicate. The nose is anything but delicate – like its younger sibling this has a very forward presentation – intense red confiture surrounded by much interest, plenty of stem aspects too. Has a very lithe stance – typical of many from 1996 – super acidity and very silky tannins. Certainly no need to rush your drinking, but this was a lovely bottle today.

1996 Barthod Ghislaine Chambolle-Musigny

By on February 28, 2006 #asides

At last, a good bottle from this case, the first was all bottle-stink and the second had sulfur which had fixed in the wine. Medium-plus ruby-red. Very interesting nose, deep and meaty, a hint of gun-flint and occasional flashes of piercingly lovely red berry fruits. Great texture, there’s still some tannin, but it’s very fine. Like most 96’s there is an obviously fresh complexion from the acidity but there’s enough red-berry fruit to balance it out – it will, however, always remain acid-forward, though the balance will see it live for many years to come – certainly no rush over the next 10! Very enjoyable.

1996 Grivot Jean Nuits St.Georges Lavières

By on February 28, 2006 #asides

Medium-plus ruby-red, fading to salmon-pink. The nose is high toned and a little diffuse, just an edge of caramel perhaps. Smooth, with some concentration and way above average length for a villages, but ends just a little ‘wishy-washy’ – I wouldn’t say that the acidity dominates, but given another 5 year, it might.

1996 Boisset Jean-Claude Pouilly-Fuisse

By on October 31, 2005 #asides

Medium golden colour. The nose is sweet, some high-tones, quite pleasant. Super acidity, good intensity and medium length. A lovely refreshing drink and no rush to finish – surprisingly good.

1996 Grivot Jean Nuits St.Georges Lavières

By on June 30, 2005 #asides

Deep colour, more garnet than ruby. The nose is quite meaty and fresh. The tannins, whilst not bad in texture, still require a couple or three years. Decent fruit concentration, and the 1996 acidity carries this wine much more interestingly than the previous ’95 Vosne. Today at least, this is a more appealing package for the acid-lovers amongst us.

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